Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

The Prologue opens with Jarrett being taught to drive by his grandfather Joe in a cemetery. When they visit Joe's parents' grave, Jarrett wonders where his mother will end up and if he'll ever meet his long absent father in this life.

Jarrett's grandparents, Shirley Ruth Olson and Joseph D. Krosoczka were married on August 28, 1948 in Worcester, Massachusetts. They met in high school. With World War II, Joe enlisted even though he was only seventeen and spent the war building highways in Guam. Shirley broke up with him during the war but after the war they reconnected and were married. 

Joe had various jobs while they started their family: first there was Joey and then Leslie was born in 1955, the year Joe opened his factory. Stephen was born next, and then Shirley miscarried, which really affected her. They then had two more girls, Lynn and then Holly.

Jarrett's mother, Leslie became pregnant. The man she believed to be the father claimed the baby wasn't his. Although her mother was upset, Leslie had the baby, named Jarrett and moved into a house her father bought for her. Life was good for Jarrett and his mother for the first few years, but soon cracks appeared.

After being pulled over by police with Jarrett in the car, Jarret's grandparents decided to seek custody of him. Leslie had been stealing for some time and they didn't want Jarrett to end up in foster care. So Jarrett went to live with Joe and Shirley and their home became his new home. Soon Jarrett was sent to preschool. Life at his grandparents home could be bad at times too. Joe and Shirley would fight when Joe came home drunk, but Shirley also drank and swore.

Jarrett began attending Gates Lane School where he had some wonderful teachers. Jarrett thought his mother would be back but she would never return. They wrote letters to one another, his mother making her own cards. His mother missed his birthdays, but the rest of the family were always there. Jarrett also learned the truth about his mother - that she was an addict and was in jail.

As it turned out, his mother began using drugs when she was thirteen-years-old but over time things got much worse. She stole to buy heroin, had younger sisters return stolen merchandise for the money to buy drugs, and even stole from her own parents. 

But for Jarrett, the lifesaver would turn out to be his artistic talent. He used his art to help him cope as a child. Art classes at Worcester Art Museum, art classes in high school at Holy Name High School, becoming a cartoonist for the school newspaper all helped him develop his gift.

As high school came to a close, Jarrett was able to reach out to his father, establish a relationship with him and accept his mother as she was - his mother who loved him but also a person with an addiction.

Discussion

Hey Kiddo is a poignant memoir of cartoonist, artist, Jarrett Krosoczka's growing upin his grandparents home because his mother Leslie was a heroin addict. The graphic memoir which is divided into eight chapters, begins with the story of his grandparents Joe and Shirley and follows their early family life, his mother's unplanned pregnancy and abandonment by Jarrett's father and his growing-up years until college.

Jarrett's memoir explores the disappointment and loss he experienced when his mother spiralled out of control because of her heroin addiction, resulting in her being in jail or in treatment programs. This resulted in him having to live with his grandparents and her missing birthdays, graduations and other special family times. But it also chronicles the love and care his grandparents gave him and his journey towards a relationship with his father, Richard Hennessy.

Initially Jarrett was angry and felt he never wanted to meet his father. Unlike his grandfather however, Jarrett believed in facing the ghosts of the past. One of them was his father. When he learned his father's name, his absence became a presence to him. Jarrett didn't know what to do with this information so he did nothing.

However, Jarrett's father wrote him a letter apologizing but Jarrett wasn't keen on responding. It was a transformative experience at a camp for children with cancer that made Jarrett wonder if he had siblings through his father. This was the motivation for Jarrett reaching out to his father and eventually establishing a lasting relationship with him.

The memoir also explores the positive effect art had on his life, eventually becoming his life's work. For Jarrett, art was a lifeline that allowed him to cope with what was happening in his life. It allowed him an escape and some control, something children and teens do not have. Drawing was initially as way to get attention as a child, but eventually evolved into a way to deal with life as a teen.

Despite all the challenges Jarrett encountered growing up, the memoir ends on a hopeful, positive tone with the author recognizing what he does have in his life at the time of his high school graduation.  In his Author's Note, Jarrett tells readers the important events in his life post-high school. He writes that what happens in your childhood and teen years does not have to be perpetuated into adulthood. He also mentions the toll addiction took on his mother.

There is also an interesting note on the art in the graphic memoir. Jarrett's grandfather always wore a pocket square in his breast pocket of his suit jacket. After his grandfather passed away, Jarrett's then eighteen-month-old daughter Zoe chose a burnt orange pocket square as something she would always keep. The burnt orange became part of the limited palette for the memoir and is the colour used in the title, also a reference to what Jarrett was often called by his grandparents.

Hey Kiddo offers a touching glimpse into a childhood framed by addiction, loss, but also forgiveness, acceptance and the meaning of family. The dedication says it all " For every reader who recognizes this experience, I see you."

Book Details:

Hey Kiddo. How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

New York: Scholastic, Graphix     2018

299 pp.

Movie Review: The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady is biopic about former UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, her rise to power in 1979, and her remarkable ten plus years governing a country experiencing both political and economic turmoil. The movie opens with Thatcher,  played by award-winning actress, Meryl Streep, in her old age, frail and suffering from dementia. She cannot remember that her beloved husband, Denis Thatcher is deceased and sometimes doesn't even know herself. She has hallucinations of him living with her and often speaks as if he were in her presence. Margaret cannot bring herself to let go of Denis's clothing.

In a series of flashbacks, viewers are taken through the significant milestones of Margaret Thatcher's life. At age twenty-four, the young Margaret Roberts, daughter of a grocer, made an unsuccessful bid for election as an MP in Parliament. Although discouraged at this "disaster", she is persuaded by Denis, who loves her, to not give up on her ambitions. Denis proposes to Margaret, with the full knowledge of exactly the type of woman she is. "One's life must matter." she tells him, emphatically stating that she will not be the type of wife content to muddle about at home cleaning tea cups.

In 1959, she finally does win a seat in the election as Conservative MP for Finchley. Her strong personality stood her in good staid in the man's world of British politics, where heckling and derision by opposition MP's in Parliament was a frequent occurrence. In 1974, Margaret decided to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party mainly because she wanted to force the party to remain true to its principles. "Someone must force the point - say the unsayable!". She doesn't believe she will win but she does.

As history tells us, Thatcher is elected as Prime Minister in 1979 and the film runs through many of the major crises she experienced as leader of the British Commonwealth; the 1983 strikers, IRA bombings, the Falklands War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her rule was characterized by uncompromising resolve and she was soon dubbed "The Iron Lady" by the Soviets who were more familiar with the vacillating leaders of the West.

Discussion

Although The Iron Lady is not a captivating film, and at times is dry, it's impossible not to be amazed at Steep's ability to capture the mannerisms of Margaret Thatcher and effect a brilliant portrayal of the woman who was the first head of state in the West. Streep effectively juxtaposes the youthful Thatcher's strong personality with that of the elderly Thatcher who is shown as a frail, elderly woman, unmoored by the loss of her beloved husband. In the end, The Iron Lady was after all, human - something the film attempts to portray and succeeds.

Streep has a strong supporting cast especially Jim Broadbent as Thatcher's husband, Denis. Alexandra Roach's performance as the young Margaret Roberts was especially well done and the film would have been more encompasing if it had delved into more of young Margaret's life.

To aid in the film's realistic portrayal of the Thatcher era, there is news footage of Thatcher and also specific events that occurred during her years as Prime Minister. This footage defines the cultural setting Thatcher existed within and the magnitude of the problems she faced head on. For those who lived through the 1980's, these clips will bring back many memories.

 The Iron Lady is a film about a one of the most important world leaders in the late 20th century. It is also yet again, a vehicle showcasing the fine acting talents of Meryl Streep.